It's all-Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Book Con all weekend here at W♥M. The fun begins today at 3pm at the Minneapolis Convention Center. …

Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con just kicked off yesterday at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and, boy, that was fun!

This is really the first big pop culture/comic/nerd convention of its kind in Minneapolis, and a lot of curious fans showed up to see what all the fuss is about on its first day (although the bulk of attendance will likely fall in today, Saturday, May 3rd, as all the big stars will be out this day). Most of the fans have never been to a major convention, so some splurged a little just for the opportunity to meet some stars like Robert Englund.

Talking to some fans who arrived late because of regular work schedule, they complained that they only had two or three hours to enjoy the convention. Still, when I arrived at 3pm, the line was massive - stretching around the convention and going back to the ticketing booth (where the line started)! I believe they could have let people in early to alleviate the long line, but perhaps for legal reasons, Wizard World waited until exactly at the hour to open its door. Thankfully the line went very quickly, with some random hiccups.

Convention Floor

On the convention floor, all the merchandise vendors were located in the front with the artist alley in the middle and autograph area set in the back. The food vendors were along the walls and program panels were actually in a different location at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Dr. Rebecca Housel

Speaking of panels, I basically hung out in the panel room for the rest of my Wizard World Minneapolis appearance, starting with The #popcultureprofessor & the Whedonvese, hosted by Dr. Rebecca Housel. Housel has worked with all the talents associated with Joss Whedon, all except the man himself. Although the panel was all about Joss, a lot of it seemed focused on his grandfather and father. Her slide show featured some (distracting) music like Young MC's "Bust A Move" and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". When asked about her choice in music, she claimed that her music library wasn't working and she could only find Angel's theme by Darling Violetta.

Housel tried to tie everything to Whedon, which I found kind of hard to believe. For example, the 'proof' that she gives for Stephenie Meyer's book New Moon (Twilight) just did not add up. I would have liked to hear less on his influences on pop culture, and more on celebrating/discussion around Whedon's work.

My other complaint was that Housel kept referencing "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" (three times!), which I am pretty sure was a Heroes reference, not a Joss Whedon thing. I will forgive Housel, she did confessed she was operating on two hours of sleep.

Danny Fingeroth and Dan Jurgens

My favorite panel was the One-On-One with Dan Jurgens, which basically ran down some of Jurgen's 30 years working in the comic book industry. They started from the humble beginning with The Warlord and how Mike Grell suggested Jurgens send in his portfolio to DC Comics. Jurgens was ahead of his time, creating the "celebrity" superhero Booster Gold and then finding himself working on The Adventures of Superman (taking over for George Perez).

Jurgens had a lot of great insight on his Superman run, talking behind the scenes on the origins of "Doomsday" and the death of Superman. I'm sure Jurgens told these stories many times, but it was always fun to hear it directly from the creator.

This was Jurgens' only Wizard World Minneapolis, but you can catch him at Minneapolis' Comic College for Free Comic Book Day (today), signing copies of his latest free Futures End #0.

Damian Beurer, LeeAnna Vamps, and Jarrett Crippen, Ivy Doomkitty

The least professional session was the Costumes + Playing = Cosplay! panel. The ladies (LeeAnna Vamps and Ivy Doomkitty) were over ten minutes late ... and when they arrived, they took multiple selfies and photos of each other. Also, I am sure I heard the unannounced guest as Jarrett Crippen who won Stan Lee's Who Wants to Be a Superhero? for Season 2. I could be wrong, as sitting all the way in the back, I could barely make out his introduction.

Of course, the real "stars" of any comic book conventions are the cosplayers. Like host Damian Beurer, I do not like the word and it does sound a bit like "cross-players" which may, or may not, be another thing altogether.

Since the majority of my time was sitting on panels, I probably missed out on some great costumes... however all the ones I caught looked great:

It's all-Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Book Con all weekend here at W♥M. The fun begins today at 3pm at the Minneapolis Convention Center. …

Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con just kicked off yesterday at the Minneapolis Convention Center, and, boy, that was fun!

This is really the first big pop culture/comic/nerd convention of its kind in Minneapolis, and a lot of curious fans showed up to see what all the fuss is about on its first day (although the bulk of attendance will likely fall in today, Saturday, May 3rd, as all the big stars will be out this day). Most of the fans have never been to a major convention, so some splurged a little just for the opportunity to meet some stars like Robert Englund.

Talking to some fans who arrived late because of regular work schedule, they complained that they only had two or three hours to enjoy the convention. Still, when I arrived at 3pm, the line was massive - stretching around the convention and going back to the ticketing booth (where the line started)! I believe they could have let people in early to alleviate the long line, but perhaps for legal reasons, Wizard World waited until exactly at the hour to open its door. Thankfully the line went very quickly, with some random hiccups.

Convention Floor

On the convention floor, all the merchandise vendors were located in the front with the artist alley in the middle and autograph area set in the back. The food vendors were along the walls and program panels were actually in a different location at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Dr. Rebecca Housel

Speaking of panels, I basically hung out in the panel room for the rest of my Wizard World Minneapolis appearance, starting with The #popcultureprofessor & the Whedonvese, hosted by Dr. Rebecca Housel. Housel has worked with all the talents associated with Joss Whedon, all except the man himself. Although the panel was all about Joss, a lot of it seemed focused on his grandfather and father. Her slide show featured some (distracting) music like Young MC's "Bust A Move" and U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". When asked about her choice in music, she claimed that her music library wasn't working and she could only find Angel's theme by Darling Violetta.

Housel tried to tie everything to Whedon, which I found kind of hard to believe. For example, the 'proof' that she gives for Stephenie Meyer's book New Moon (Twilight) just did not add up. I would have liked to hear less on his influences on pop culture, and more on celebrating/discussion around Whedon's work.

My other complaint was that Housel kept referencing "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" (three times!), which I am pretty sure was a Heroes reference, not a Joss Whedon thing. I will forgive Housel, she did confessed she was operating on two hours of sleep.

Danny Fingeroth and Dan Jurgens

My favorite panel was the One-On-One with Dan Jurgens, which basically ran down some of Jurgen's 30 years working in the comic book industry. They started from the humble beginning with The Warlord and how Mike Grell suggested Jurgens send in his portfolio to DC Comics. Jurgens was ahead of his time, creating the "celebrity" superhero Booster Gold and then finding himself working on The Adventures of Superman (taking over for George Perez).

Jurgens had a lot of great insight on his Superman run, talking behind the scenes on the origins of "Doomsday" and the death of Superman. I'm sure Jurgens told these stories many times, but it was always fun to hear it directly from the creator.

This was Jurgens' only Wizard World Minneapolis, but you can catch him at Minneapolis' Comic College for Free Comic Book Day (today), signing copies of his latest free Futures End #0.

Damian Beurer, LeeAnna Vamps, and Jarrett Crippen, Ivy Doomkitty

The least professional session was the Costumes + Playing = Cosplay! panel. The ladies (LeeAnna Vamps and Ivy Doomkitty) were over ten minutes late ... and when they arrived, they took multiple selfies and photos of each other. Also, I am sure I heard the unannounced guest as Jarrett Crippen who won Stan Lee's Who Wants to Be a Superhero? for Season 2. I could be wrong, as sitting all the way in the back, I could barely make out his introduction.

Of course, the real "stars" of any comic book conventions are the cosplayers. Like host Damian Beurer, I do not like the word and it does sound a bit like "cross-players" which may, or may not, be another thing altogether.

Since the majority of my time was sitting on panels, I probably missed out on some great costumes... however all the ones I caught looked great: